"This is all part of Gary Bettman's book," Chimera told CSNWashington.com on Friday. "He seems to be bent on ruining the game. If that's what he's out to do he's sure doing a good job of it. It's disappointing. We're willing to get a deal done and try to sit down and talk with no pre-conditions and they don't want to talk."

The No. 2 men for the NHL and NHLPA spoke on Saturday, according to Sportsnet.ca.

Deputy commissioner Bill Daly and NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr spoke on the phone in the first direct contact by both sides since Tuesday.

No meeting has been scheduled as of yet, according to Renaud Lavoie of RDS.ca.

Chimera said that it is apparent that the league is trying to make NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr out to be the enemy.

"We were close," Chimera said. "I talked to Ron [Hainsey] directly and he said when you put [Bettman and Fehr] in a room it's a deal breaker. We can get the sides close but we're not the ones who put together the documents on a new CBA. We don't have the skills to do that.

"We tried to get them close and let them hammer out a deal. For whatever reason, they're bent on making Don Fehr the big enemy. I don't know if that's Gary Bettman's doing. I don't know if he feels intimidated that he's kind of met his match maybe because [Fehr] is as smart a guy as he is.

Capitals forward Brooks Laich questioned if Bettman had the sport's best interest at heart.

"Our guys really care about the game and it's unfortunate we feel we're not getting the same passion back from the other side," he said.

"I hope they know something we don't because I think we're doing tremendous damage to the game and I don't see any positive effect of what we're doing right now. I'm hopeful a deal is there and we can get back on the ice because I think we're just killing the game right now and I don't understand it."

The NHLPA moved closer to dissolving the players' union on Friday by voting to give the executive board the discretion to file a disclaimer of interest that would speed up the process of decertifying the union.

The league has canceled games through Jan. 14 and the season seems dangerously close to being lost for good.

"We don't want the season to be canceled," Chimera said. "Every day I check my computer 10 to 12 times a day. My wife is going crazy. You look for a miracle to happen and it doesn't happen. Hopefully they come to their senses. It's almost laughable what's going on and what they're thinking."

Christie cited the fact that this is the third labor stoppage in the past 18 years, including the 1994-95 and 2004-05 lockouts.

"When you can't have a good relationship with your folks, your labor, three times in a row now to the point where you lose most of or entire seasons, it reflects I think on management," he said. "I mean listen I worked it out with state workers they come to work every day."

Christie later said simply, "You know, that's bad management."

Christie expressed concern over downtown Newark, which is the home of the Prudential Center, the arena where the New Jersey Devils play.

"A lot of restaurants and other attractions have built up around the Prudential Center," Christie said. "They're very dependent upon the fans who come to watch the Devils, a lot of folks employed at the Prudential Center and these businesses. I'm concerned about it."

NHL lockout at a glance

Games lost: 625 (all games through Jan. 14, including New Year's Day Winter Classic, and All-Star weekend).

Brief talks: Daly spoke to Steve Fehr on the telephone Saturday, but the sides have yet to make plans to meet face to face.

What we missed: A heavy 11-game schedule was lost Saturday, including a visit by the New Jersey Devils to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers in a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals. The Devils took the series between the area rivals in six games, before falling in the Stanley Cup finals to the champion Los Angeles Kings. The Rangers eliminated the Devils in a stirring seven-game Eastern Conference finals series in 1994 before ending a 54-year Stanley Cup title drought.

On this day last year: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland was suspended three games by the NHL for an illegal hit to the head of Chicago Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger. No penalty was assessed during the game following the first-period hit. Engelland lost nearly $9,200 in salary.